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Monday, February 20, 2012

Each Sunday when the offering plate
goes around, every believer has an opportunity to give.There are many reasons for putting an
offering in the plate.Some donate
because they feel that people are watching them, and their reputation is on the
line.Others give because they can get a
tax write-off.Still others give out of
gratitude for what God has done for them, and a desire to see God’s work done
locally and around the world.

Many churches teach tithing, or
giving 10% of one’s income to God.Theologian and author C.S. Lewis says, “I do not believe one can settle
how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than
we can spare.”Yet Brian Kluth, author
of A View from the Pew: Financial Statistics of 750 Christian Households on
Income, Job, Debt, and Giving/Tithing[i], writes, “While
most people only give 1-3% of their income to charitable/church/religious
causes, survey responders indicated their household made it a priority to be
faithful and generous givers.”I find it
interesting that people say that giving is important to them, and that they
want to be generous, while not even coming close to the Biblical tithe.

God
wants us to be generous givers, but He also wants us to be cheerful givers. Many find it difficult to do both at the same
time.That’s because oftentimes people
are afraid that if they give now, they won’t have what they need later.But the apostle Paul reminds us in 2
Corinthians 9:10-11 (HCSB), “The One who provides seed for the sower and bread
for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your
righteousness.You will be enriched in
every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.”

Jesus
taught us to pray, “Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:11),” but Paul
goes a step further, saying that God provides not only the bread for food, but
He also provides the seed necessary to grow the wheat that produces more
bread!In other words, God provides for
today and for tomorrow.He says that
when you give, God will repay you—not because tithing is a “get rich quick
scheme,” but so that you will be able to give even more!

If God generously gave
His Son as a sacrifice for us, what can we give to Him to show our
gratitude?Many have said that they
can’t afford to give, but I have personally found that I can’t afford not to
give to God’s work.Instead, I have been
greatly repaid in every way.Industrialist
and philanthropist J.D. Rockefeller said, "I never would have been able to
tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary,
which was $1.50 per week."[ii]So you can start small, and let God grow your
giving.Today, I invite you to give to
your local church and to other godly endeavors as well. You never lose out for having done so.Instead, you gain a harvest of
righteousness.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Athletes
wear mouth guards to protect against anything that might go into their mouth—a
ball, a foot, or the ground. In the
spiritual life, we need mouth guards as well, not to protect us from what might
go into the mouth, but from what might come out. Jesus said, “What goes into a man's mouth
does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what
makes him 'unclean (Matthew 15:11).'"
A spiritual mouth guard protects not against violence to the mouth, but
against violence from the mouth.

In Psalm 141:1-4a, King David
“O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to
me. Hear my voice when I call to
you. May my prayer be set before you
like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set
a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch
over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil.”

Yesterday, I had to make a difficult
phone call to someone I’ve known for twenty years. Without getting into the details, I’ll just
say that I had to tell the person that his actions toward my family were
unacceptable, and that even though he called himself our friend, he didn’t fit
into that category in my mind. I had to
ask him to cut off all contact from us—permanently. I have to admit that I was angry when I spoke
to him on the phone.

The man on the other end of the line
was stunned at my anger. “But you’re a
minister!” he said. Personally, I was
amazed that he thought a minister shouldn’t ever be angry. Ephesians 4:26
says that it’s all right to be angry at times.
“Be angry, and yet do not sin,” it says.
I found that by keeping a guard on my mouth, I allowed myself to be
angry, and yet not cross the line into sin.

“Ephesians 4:26 also says, “Do not let the sun go down on your
anger.” After that difficult
conversation at 11:00 at night, I was
exhausted—but I didn’t want to go to bed.
I didn’t want to carry those negative emotions with me into
dreamland. So I put on an old comedy TV
show and laughed and laughed until I felt better. When you’re angry, don’t sin. When you’re angry, don’t hold onto it. Be angry—it’s okay to be angry—but let it go
quickly. Don’t carry it with you into
the next day.

This past Sunday I shared with my
church Jesus’ words to his enemies the Pharisees in John 8:26. “I have much to say about you and much to
condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent
me, and he is completely truthful.”
Jesus showed us that just because you’re thinking something, that
doesn’t mean you have to say it. You can
keep it to yourself, especially if you know if would be sinful to say. It’s all right to be angry—but don’t
sin. When you’re angry, do what David
did. Cry out to God. Pray.
Ask the Lord to set a guard over your lips, that you might not be drawn
to evil.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Psalm 55 – Enemies Within

This psalm deals with enemies
within—both enemies within the psalmist’s circle of friendship and enemies
(attitudes) within himself.Just as
Psalm 3 dealt with David’s internal and external struggle at the rebellion of
his son Absalom, so Psalm 55 also expresses David’s grief over the betrayal of
a close friend.

The
Targum, an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew scriptures, names the offending
character of Psalm 55 as Ahithophel.The
Holman Bible Dictionary gives the following information on this this Old
Testament Judas:

AHITHOPHEL

(uh hihth' oh fehl) Personal name meaning, “brother of
folly” if it is not a scribal attempt to hide an original name including a
Canaanite god such as Ahibaal. See Jerubbaal.
David's counselor who joined Absalom's revolt against King David (2 Samuel 15:12).
David prayed that his counsel might be turned to foolishness (2 Samuel 15:31)
and commissioned the faithful Hushai to help Zadok and Abiathar, the priests,
counteract the counsel of Ahithophel. Ahithophel led Absalom to show his rebellion
was for real by taking over his father's concubines (2 Samuel
16:15-23). Ahithophel's counsel was famous as being equal to the word of
God (2 Samuel
16:23). Hushai, however, persuaded Absalom not to follow Ahithophel's
military advice (2 Samuel
17:1), this being God's work (2 Samuel 17:14).
Disgraced, Ahithophel returned home to Giloh, put his house in order, and
hanged himself (2 Samuel
17:23). He may have been the grandfather of Bathsheba, David's partner in
sin and wife (2 Samuel
11:3; 2 Samuel
23:34).[1]

Perhaps Psalm 55 will give us some
insight into the spiritual warfare we deal with, when we are betrayed by a
friend.The psalmist writes:

The NIV that I have used
here does not do justice to David’s feelings.The King James Version says, “I mourn in my complaint, and make a
noise.”The New King James Version
reads, “I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,” while Young’s renders
it, “I mourn in my meditation, and make a noise,”The Hebrew word for this noise is
“huwm.”Perhaps it would not be an
unfair translation to say, “In my meditation, all I can do is hum.”You’ve probably been there before, when your
prayers turn to groanings because of your grief.What was creating such grief in David’s
spirit?Verse 3 says he is in this
state…

3 because of what my
enemy is saying,
because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
and assail me in their anger.

It’s important to take
responsibility for our own thoughts.Jesus emphasized the importance of a pure thought life when He said,
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8).The entire Sermon on the Mount seems to be
about the believer’s inner life, and emphasizes that attitude really does
matter.Attitude reflects the choices a
person makes in his head, to focus on one thing or another.When someone chooses to focus on the
positive, then good things overflow in her life.When a person chooses to focus on the
negative, then evil things overflow in his life.

There are, however, times
when thoughts just show up on their own.They seem to come from a source outside ourselves.The Spirit of God can speak to us in this
way, surprising and blessing us by divine love.The enemy of our souls can also speak directly to our spirits, filling
our hearts with wickedness and fear.David ‘s next words show that he has been spiritually attacked with
thoughts and attitudes that have come from outside himself:

4
My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me. 5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.

I suggest to you that when
evil thoughts appear unbidden, they may be an attack of the enemy.Though we don’t often like to admit it, evil
imaginings seem to “pop up,” seemingly on their own.I knew one very sane woman loved her infant
very much.She told me that when he was
at his colicky worst, sometimes she imagined herself doing violence to
him.She would never actually harm her
child, but violent thoughts seemed to arise out of nowhere.It wasn’t her—the thoughts seemed to come
from outside her.

What did she do?She employed the tactic that all believers
need to learn.We find this in 2 Corinthians
10:5, which says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself
up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ.”Calling on the name
of Jesus, she took her thoughts captive and turned instead to positive,
prayerful, and faithful thoughts.David
does the same thing when he says:

6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest. 7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert; 8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.”

In verse 8, David calls
this trouble, “the tempest and storm,” or (better) “windy tempest [and]
storm.”The word for “windy” is ruach, which can also be translated as
“spirit.”So David is talking about a “spirit-storm.”Often, the negative emotions and thoughts
that come our way feel like a demonically inspired spirit-storm, and David
wants to escape it all.

With these words, David has
“gone to a happy place.”In the Bible,
the dove is associated with the Holy Spirit.David indicates here that he wants the Spirit to carry him away so that
he can be at rest.He would flee far
away and stay in the “desert.”This word
is better translated as “pasture.”David
mentally returns to the peace and calm of his shepherding days, when God made
him lie down in green pastures, led him beside still waters, and restored his
soul.So many psalms refer to God as a
hiding place and a shelter from the storm, that we cannot read verse 8 without
realizing that David’s desire is to find his refuge in God Himself.

In our previous study of
Psalm 48, we learned that the believer is the Temple
of God.By extension, the believer is also analogous
to Jerusalem, Zion,
and other words used in the Psalms to describe the holy place of God.Keep in mind that when David was writing his
poetry, he was writing about real people, places, and events.He was writing about his betrayal by
Ahithophel.But believers today can make
the Psalms deeply personal by reading his sentiments a symbolic of their inner
lives.Verses 9-11 talk about violence
in “the city,” which the believer can interpret as an internal conflict within
their own souls.

9
Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.

At this point, I’d like to
pause to make a radical suggestion.Often, Hebrew people would anthropomorphize God, describing the “eyes of
the Lord” or the “hand of God.”Other
figurative language describes God as a “consuming fire,” or calls the earth,
“God’s footstool.”For a moment I invite
you to think creatively with me, imagining some of the words in verses 4-5,
9-11 as a bit more than what they seem to be on the surface.All it requires are a few capital letters.

Verse 4refers to the “terrors of death” that have fallen on the
psalmist.Why not read this as a proper
noun—“Terrors of Death?”In verse 5,
“fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.”If we take these concepts and capitalize them
into proper names, then “Fear and Trembling have beset me, Horror has
overwhelmed me.”By doing this, we can
see these emotions for what they truly are—the servants of Satan.The New Living Translation renders 1 Samuel 16:14 as, “Now the Spirit of the LORD had left
Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and
fear.”Certainly, sometimes (at least),
emotions that plague God’s people can have spiritual reality behind
them—demonic personalities that have your destruction as their main goal.Could they have names like Terror of Death,
Fear, Trembling, and Horror?What else
would demons be named?

In verse 9, Violence and
Strife are also in the city, prowling on its walls.Malice is also there, with his friend
Abuse.These are Satan’s special forces
operatives—his “Destructive Forces.”A
demon named Threats has joined their ranks, along with another called
Lies.This naming of demons may sound
strange to you, but it is not unheard of in Hebrew literature.Leviticus 16:6-8 mentions a demon named Azazel.Isaiah 34:8-14 says, “"The land shall
become burning pitch Thorns shall grow over its strongholds It shall be the
haunt of jackals yea there shall the night hag alight and find for herself a
resting place." What is the “night hag?”The Hebrew word is liyliyth.The English equivalent is
“Lilith,” who is a demon of Hebrew folklore.[2]The commonly-used translation, “screech owl”
doesn’t do the Hebrew justice.Certainly
names like “Satan,” “Apollyon,” and “Abaddon” are familiar to us, but what
about the demon names that are hidden in the text of Psalm 91:5-6, “You
will not be afraid of the Terror by Night, or of the Arrow-That-Flies-by-Day;
Of the Pestilence-That-Stalks-in-Darkness, or of the
Destruction-That-Lays-Waste-at-Noon.”Here, the capital letters are mine, but these words given as names are
substantiated in demology.[3]

Whether the reader
interprets these as literal names of actual demons is not as important to me as
the reader’s understanding that terror of death, fear, trembling, horror,
violence, and strife—these things are demonic, and their source is the Evil
One.When these influences, whether
literal demons or metaphorical concepts, crawl through the cities of our souls,
they leave destruction in their path.The believer is justified in praying against such enemies, “Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their
words (verse 9).”

In the next verses, David
expresses his despair that his betrayer was once his friend and advisor.

12
If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
at the house of God,
as we walked about
among the worshipers…

20
My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant. 21 His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

I believe that David
understands the difference between the physical man who betrayed him, and the
powers and principalities that were behind him.Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”He shifts from discussing his “friend,” to talking about his
“enemies.”His understanding that these
enemies are demons rather than human is indicated by his belief that they are
able to “go down alive to the realm of the dead,” (v. 15) because that place of
evil seems to be their natural habitation.

15
Let death take my enemies by surprise;
let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
for evil finds lodging among them.

How can David get victory in his life?How can he experience God’s blessing again,
even though friends have turned to enemies and spiritual foes have rallied
against him?How can you experience
victory in the spiritual warfare that engages you?The next verses give the answer:

16
As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me. 17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice. 18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me. 19 God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God…

22
Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken. 23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
will not live out half their days.

But
as for me, I trust in you.

Call out to God, who hears your distress.He will hear you and rescue you unharmed from
the battle that wages against you.Remember that God is enthroned from of old, meaning that he doesn’t
change.He is not afraid of defeat,
because defeat is impossible for him.Those who have no fear of God will learn to fear him, and will be
humbled.

Verses 16-17 talk about prayer—the secret
weapon.David remembers that he doesn’t
defeat the enemies within by his own might or by his own power, but by the
Spirit of God.“I call to God, and the
LORD saves me” are the words he uses, giving credit where credit is due.David names three times per day, evening, and
morning, and noon, that he goes to
God in prayer.How often do you
pray?Do you have established prayer
times, regularly scheduled appointments with God?When you make and keep these appointed times,
you strengthen your prayer life and ensure victory in spiritual warfare.

In verse 22, the psalmist shifts from talking about
his own situation, to exhorting the reader (you) about your own battles.“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will
sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”God will bring down the bloodthirsty and
deceitful (whether we’re talking about people or demonic enemies, the principle
still applies) and thrown them into the pit of decay.

“But as form me, I trust in you.”Now there’s a line you can hold onto!Cast your cares on him, and he will sustain
you.David ends his psalm on spiritual
warfare on a positive note, reminding the reader that God has already won the
victory.Though battles rage against
God’s people, “he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

When it comes to spiritual warfare, the “enemy
within” can mean three different things.First, it could mean the human being that has offended, hurt, or
betrayed you—a person you were once close to, a person within your own inner
circle.Or, the “enemy within” can be forces
of spiritual wickedness that seek to control your life, demonic adversaries
that want you defeated.Or, the “enemy
within” can be your own sinful thoughts and ungodly attitude.In any case, David’s words bring
victory.Find hope in them today:

16 As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me. 17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice. 18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.

[2] LILITH
(Isa. 34:14; ultimately from Sumerian lil, "air," not Heb. layl(ah),
"night") was originally a succubus, believed to cohabit with mortals,
but in the Arslan Tash incantation…she is identified with the child-stealing
demon, a character she retains in later folklore. The tradition that the name
means "screech-owl" (in so many translations) reflects a very ancient
association of birds, especially owls, with the demonic. (The Jewish Virtual
Library http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05094.html.February
12, 2012)

[3] DEVER
("Pestilence") is the other demonic herald who marches with YHWH to
battle (Hab. 3:5). Dever is also mentioned in Psalms 91:5–6: "Thou shalt
not be afraid for the Terror (Paḥad) by night; Nor for the Arrow (Ḥeẓ)
that flieth by day; Nor for the Pestilence (Dever) that walketh in the
darkness; Nor for the Destruction (Ketev) that wasteth at noonday."
Not only Dever but also the other words italicized above have been plausibly
identified as names of demons. The "Arrow" is a familiar symbol in
folklore, for disease or sudden pain, and Ketev (Qetev; cf. Deut.
32:24; Isa. 28:2; Hos. 13:14) is in
this instance the personification of overpowering noonday heat, known also to
Greek and Roman demonology.(The Jewish
Virtual Library.http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05094.html.February
12, 2012)

In Rebuilding Your Broken World, Gordon MacDonald suggests twenty-six questions to help
develop accountability and invite feedback. If we desire to grow, we should submit our
selves to a spiritual mentor and answer these questions honestly. 1. How is your relationship with God right now?
2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week?
3. What has God said to you in this reading?
4. Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days?
5. What specific things are you praying for in regard to yourself?
7. What are the specific tasks facing you right now that you consider incomplete?
8. What habits intimidate you?
9. What have you read in the secular press this week?
10. What general reading are you doing?
11. What have you done to play?
12. How are you doing with your spouse? Kids?
13. If I were to ask your spouse about your state of mind, state of spirit, state of
energy level, what would the response be?
14. Are you sensing spiritual attacks from the enemy right now?
15. If Satan were to try to invalidate you as a person or as a servant of the Lord, how
might he do it?
16. What is the state of your sexual perspective? Tempted? Dealing with fantasies?
Entertainment?
17. Where are you financially right now? (things under control? under anxiety? in great
debt?)
18. Are there any unresolved conflicts in your circle of relationships right now?
19. When was the last time you spent time with a good friend of your own gender?
20. What kind of time have you spent with anyone who is a non-Christian this month?
21. What challenges do you think you're going to face in the coming week? Month?
22. What would you say are your fears at this present time?
23. Are you sleeping well?
24. What three things are you most thankful for?
25. Do you like yourself at this point in your pilgrimage?
26. What are your greatest confusions about your relationship with God? Paul Borthwick, Leading the Way,
Navpress, 1989, pp. 171-172.

I can't endorse everything on all this guy's pages, but "Etymology Man"--who can resist his powers?

Why Is My Blog Called "Love the Word?"

So I was finally convinced to move into the 21st century and start a blog. What to name it?I've never liked those corny preacher-related email addresses like praisethelordimsavedandpreachingforjesus@hotmail.com. (My apologies if that's a real email address.) They seem disingenuous (isn't that a great word? According to the rhymezone.com dictionary it means "not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness.) I'd rather have a title for my blog that says what it is, and means it.

Then it hit me. "Love The Word." What could be more authentic, bona fide, genuine, literal, real, sincere, true, unveigned, unquestionable, and veritable than that?

I Love The Word.This can mean more than one thing, of course.

The Book of John, chapter 1 (NLT) says of Jesus:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. So it's quite obvious, isn't it? I love The Word--Jesus Himself, without whom there would be no you, no me, no blog for that matter.

But my blog title means something else as well. I love the word. My kids call me a 'word nerd.' I love words. I love what you can do with them--the impact they can make on people's lives. I love the history of words, both in English and in the other languages I've studied (Latin, Spanish, Greek). As a pastor, I use words as I preach every week, to try to impart the truth of The Word--Jesus. As a writer, I use words to share ideas, entertain, and inspire. So, as a typical 'word nerd' I had to come up with a blog title that truly embodied my affinity for both the Logos and the phrase.

On this blog you'll find my random thoughts. You'll also find a link to "Spirit and Truth," a weekly column I write for the southern Virginia newspaper, The Southside Messenger. In addition, you're likely to find various musings on some of my favorite topics including writing, family, the Christian life, and more. Thanks for stopping in. My hope is that you'll love the word as much as I do.

This Day in History

About Me

I am the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Scottsburg, Virginia, and have been in ministry over half my life.
I have been published in several newspapers, and write a weekly column entitled "Spirit and Truth" in The Southside Messenger, which has a circulation in southside Virginia.
I have four beautiful children and three wonderful grandbabies, some of whom live with me.